Be Bold, LPGA Tour

Rick Young

Rick Young

Commissioner Mike Whan and the LPGA Tour are staring at an opportunity.

By extension, so is About Sports Properties International, the current owner of the soon-to-be-defunct Manulife LPGA Classic, and Bruno Event Team, the Alabama-based sports marketing and event firm that capably operates the professional event.

The opportunity, though, is contingent on whether the LPGA Tour wants to continue to have a second event in Canada to go along with the CP Women’s Open, and if the capable Whan and his executive team in Daytona Beach, Fla., can nail down a new title sponsor for it. Waterloo, Ont.-based Manulife’s six-year run as title sponsor for the Southwestern Ontario event ends after this year’s tournament, June 7-11 at Whistle Bear GC in Cambridge.

To do so, Whan and the LPGA Tour should be bold. They must put tradition aside, be daring in how it operates, and be open to trying something new.
And I’d like to think the LPGA can be as forward-thinking as any sports organization. It has a bit of history in that respect.

So why not borrow from the PGA Tour and try to turn a second LPGA event in Canada into a two-player team event like this year’s inaugural Zurich Classic of New Orleans? That’s right. Copy it. Eighty two-player teams play foursomes the first 36 holes with the top 40 teams moving on and playing four-ball on the weekend. Rolex ranking points and money get split right down the middle.

If you are a fan of the LPGA like I am, the possibilities here are absolutely delicious. How exciting would it be for Canadian Olympians Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp to team up or for the Korda sisters or Jutanugarn girls? What about Kiwi Lydia Ko and Aussie Minjee Lee as a team or Germany’s Sandra Gal and Caroline Masson or an all-American pairing of Lexi Thompson and Brittany Lincicome? Talk about creating interest.

From an actual tournament perspective a two-player team event would certainly help make the other Canadian LPGA tournament distinct from the CP Women’s Open. No disrespect intended but isn’t it more beneficial for the LPGA to have a second event in Canada with a different format instead of being the Canadian Women’s Open’s junior? Does a two-player event like this not have some validity?

“I think it does, no question,” said Masson, the defending Manulife LPGA Classic champion who was on hand earlier this week for the tournament’s media day at Whistle Bear. “I watched New Orleans as much as I could. The guys had fun, the atmosphere was good. There’s nothing wrong with trying something different. We had the match play a couple of weeks ago in Mexico. That was a great idea. Up here, you have something special. You have great crowds, you stand out more. I think it could be great.”

Masson also pointed to the impact of the European Tour’s recent GolfSixes event at the Centurion Club in St. Albans, England. While the limited field, 16-country tournament might not suit the LPGA, the fast-paced country vs. country two-man team format, conjured up by the tour’s chief executive officer, Keith Pelley, offered a spirited alternative to 72-hole stroke play. And it had a lot of eyes.

“It was pretty cool. I watched. It was fun and the guys looked like they loved it,” Masson said. “Playing for their country in a team event. It was cool. I understand they wanted to try something really different and I’m not sure you could do the same here (LPGA) but team golf, team format is always fun. I’d love to see.”

It’s hard to imagine Golf Channel, the exclusive broadcast rights holder for the LPGA Tour, not being enamoured with an idea like this too. Team competitions like the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and Solheim Cup are for the most part ratings bonanzas. An LPGA two-player event, cut straight out of that Zurich Classic of New Orleans model, might have a chance for similar success. At the very least it would be an exciting diversion for the network and a unique way to showcase the LPGA Tour and its players each year.

“Mike (Whan) is pretty traditional. I think he prefers the 72-hole stroke play format but you never know,” Masson added. “He might really like something like that.”

What about finding a new title sponsor to take over from Manulife? A format change to a team competition like this might generate ramped up interest from corporate Canada or even a globally established brand targeting the women’s demographic. An alliance with the LPGA could prove beneficial like it does for the many companies already partnering with the women’s professional game.

Hard to know what lies in prospect for this event after June 11. Far more questions exist than answers but one thing seems clear to me: a two-player team event to replace the Manulife LPGA Classic is worth exploring.

Rick Young

EQUIP AND BIZ

Join Rick Young for what's new and what's happening in the world of golf equipment and business.

Kevin
May 21, 2017 at 9:28 am

Rick, usually love your articles but I completely disagree with this one. Creating a team event would be the answer for an event that is poorly attended, or doesn’t attract the top talent to a great event. This describes more the Canadian Open than the Manulife Classic. The Manulife Classic has excellent numbers. It is in trouble because of the lack of a title sponsor, not because of attendance or participation. I hope you attend the event this year and see the crowds and how popular this event is.